Author: Frangulian Shushan

Azeri Army Gets Stronger
Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 28 2005
Azerbaijan will spend 300 million dollars (248 million euros) on
its armed forces in 2005, a 70 percent increase over last year,
the Azeri leader said at a ceremony in a military academy, AFP news
agency reported.
“The adversary must know that the Azerbaijani army can mobilize at any
moment and liberate the occupied territories,” Azerbaijani President
Ýlham Aliyev said.
“Spending on the country’s defense force will grow continuously”
added Aliyev.
In May, Azerbaijan inaugurated a US-backed pipeline, which will deliver
oil from Caspian Sea oil fields to the Mediterranean and is expected
to generate as much as 160 billion dollars for the country over the
next 30 years.
20 percent of Azerbaijan has been under Armenian occupation for more
than a decade. Armenian forces with the Russian assistance occupied
Karabakh and many Azeri towns and rejected to withdraw. The EU and the
US named Armenia ‘occupier’ in Karabakh. Turkey says its relations with
Armenia cannot be restored as long as occupation continues. Azerbaijan
is the only European country whose large territories under occupation
of another European country. Nilgun Gulcan from ISRO says Armenia
prefers more territories instead of peace, stability and co-operation:
“Armenia, Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan can establish a regional
economic integration. Regional co-operation will increase integration
with the West. The Yerevan must understand that occupation cannot
be a solution to its economic and political problems. There are more
than 100 million Turkish around Armenia, and Armenia cannot survive
without restoring its relations with the neighboring countries.”
June 28 2005
New EU document to call on Turkey to ‘normalise’ relations with Cyprus
By Myria Antoniadou in Brussels
ANKARA is being called upon to “normalise” its relations with all EU
member states, including the Republic of Cyprus, in the framework
of negotiations’ with Turkey to be discussed by the Commissioners
tomorrow.
Sources believe this reference is of particular importance to
Nicosia, as it could use it in future discussions within the Council.
For example, Nicosia can refuse to open the transport chapter during
the negotiations with Ankara, scheduled to start on October 3, unless
Turkey opens its ports and airports to Cypriot interests.
The framework also calls on Turkey to support the continued efforts
for a settlement in Cyprus and to make further steps in creating a
favourable climate.
At the same time, it asks Turkey to fulfil its obligations regarding
the Association Council (customs union) and in particular to extend
the additional protocol to all member states.
The protocol has been approved by the EU and but it still remains to
be signed by the Turkish government.
However, sources told the Mail they did not believe Ankara would sign
the protocol till mid or end of September, just before negotiations
begin, as it is viewed as de facto recognition of Cyprus and therefore
a very contentious issue in Turkey.
The negotiations framework also calls upon Turkey to respect human
rights as well as relevant European case law. The latter is considered
important to Cyprus because of decisions such as the Titina Loizidou
case by the European Court of Human Rights.
Some parties in Brussels view these references as a change from the
position held towards Cyprus by the previous enlargement Commissioner
Gunter Verheugen. His successor Olli Rehn appears to be more open
to discussion and less inclined towards a blame game, while at the
same time maintaining a good relationship with Cypriot Commissioner
Markos Kyprianou.
The document will be sent to the Council for approval, and therefore
nobody knows its final references.
The government is expected to try adding more elements, like the need
for the withdrawal of Turkish troops and settlers or an end to the
illegal construction in the north, but this is difficult to achieve
in such a brief document. It may feel it has more chance to have them
included in the ‘revised accession partnership’ to be finalised after
the start of talks. The framework of the negotiations with Turkey also
refers to the need for good neighbourly relations, which is of interest
to Greece, Armenia and the Kurds. Reflecting the discussion going
on within the EU over the past weeks, there is a clear reference to
the fact that the negotiations are “open ended” the Mail has learned.
–Boundary_(ID_H35AQmXyoMSOpYQdXstd2A)–

OPPOSITION LAWMAKERS CALLS ON ALL TO PUT ASIDE THEIR DIFFERENCES FOR THE SAKE OF DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTION
Armenpress
YEREVAN, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS: One of the most vehement critics of
Armenian authorities called today on the opposition and pro-government
forces to throw away their differences and join efforts for bringing
the country’s constitution in conformity with true democratic
standards.
Shavarsh Kocharian, a parliament member from the opposition Ardarutyun
(Justice) alliance said there is now a good opportunity to take
up the Council of Europe recommendations and revise a package of
constitutional reforms, developed by the ruling coalition and approved
by parliament in the first reading, which he said is more important
now than the opposition-authorities standoff.
Shavarsh Kocharian, who is also a member of Armenian delegation to
PACE, said revolutions are made to change constitutions and make
them democratic.
“If we have now this chance to carry out these reforms why should we
miss it? ,” he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

wimbledon.org
D. Nalbandian – Day 4
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Q. How did that go for you today? How did you feel?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Pretty good. I mean, I think I played very good match, and
I feel every time more confidence on the court. Feeling very good.
Q. Do you feel you’re playing as well now as you were in the year that you
reached the final?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: It’s really tough to compare, but I’m think I’m starting
the matches with more confidence than 2002. So I think I feel a little bit
better now.
Q. Does it still feel kind of strange coming on to grass after so long on
clay, or are you quite used to it by now?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Yeah, it’s difficult. It’s a big difference of surface,
but we have enough days to adapt to these courts. So it’s not that bad.
Q. What do you know about your next opponent, Andrew Murray?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: I didn’t know him, so I can’t tell you too much.
Q. You haven’t heard of him at all?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: A little bit, but…
I know I have to be careful. I mean, he’s in the third round, so he must be
playing good.
Q. Have you seen any of his games here? You haven’t seen any clips?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Just two, three. Not big deal.
Q. He’s obviously got a lot of support behind him, being one of the home
players. Does that make any difference to you when the crowd are backing the
other player?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: No. Of course gonna be everybody with him. I think he’s
the only one left, so should be a lot of people support him.
But I’m gonna feel okay.
Q. You’ve come across this situation before, haven’t you, with Tim Henman, I
think?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Yeah, but is gonna be different. All match are different,
so…
All years are different so…
Q. In terms of the support.
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it’s gonna be almost the
same, I don’t know.
Q. Does it kind of fire you up? Does it motivate you more?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: You mean for the people, for the support, the crowd?
Q. When everybody appears to be almost against you.
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Everybody – not almost everybody (laughing).
But, no, Davis Cup is gonna be almost the same so…
Q. But that gives you a little bit extra?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Yeah, a little motivation extra, yeah.
Q. Because some players would wilt under the kind of pressure.
DAVID NALBANDIAN: No, I like to play like this.
Q. I ask you just about Davis Cup. You won today, Guillermo Coria won today.
Does that boost your chances, do you think, of winning in Australia on
grass?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Even if we do a good tournament, both, it’s gonna be very
tough in Australia. They have a very good players, very good doubles. So
either way it’s gonna be tough. So we know that for grass court they have a
better team than us, but we still believe that we have a chance.
Q. How big a loss is it for you not having Guillermo Canas available for the
team?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: Well, of course not a good news for him, first of all, and
for the Davis Cup.
But, I don’t know, of course gonna be a little bit more tough, but we still
having a good players left.
Q. He’s the fourth Argentinian guy to have a positive test. Do you worry
about how that might affect the reputation of Argentinian tennis?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: No. I mean, I don’t know too deep the case. I mean, I
don’t know exactly what is going on, so I can’t tell you too much.
I think is gonna be very tough for him. Was — I think was unlucky for all
the Argentinians, but I don’t know, I don’t know why.
Q. Assuming this match against Murray is on Centre Court where he hasn’t
played before, how difficult was it for you when you played your first match
on Centre in a final to get used to the special atmosphere of the place?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: I don’t know. You have to ask him.
Q. But I mean for you.
DAVID NALBANDIAN: I can’t tell you for him.
Q. For you.
DAVID NALBANDIAN: For me, was tough because I was in the final and I never
played before. So was two thing: the final and the Centre Court.
But, I mean, you must be nervous in the first few games, and then everything
is going natural.
Q. Will you take any pleasure out of being the guy who beats the last Briton
at Wimbledon?
DAVID NALBANDIAN: I have to play first and then I’m gonna ask you the
question after that (smiling).

RUSSIAN OBSERVERS FOLLOWED NKR ELECTIONS ON THEIR OWN
INITIATIVE AND IN PERSONAL CAPACITY: RUSSIAN FM
MOSCOW, JUNE 23. ARMINFO. The Russian citizens observing the
parliamentary elections in Nagorno Karabakh did that exclusively on
their own initiative and in personal capacity, says Russian Foreign
Ministry.
The source says that Moscow consistenly supports the principle of
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity like the other norms and
principles of the international law. Russia does not recognize
Nagorno Karabakh as an independent state. The Russian FM is convinced
that the status of Nagorno Karabakh should be determined by peace
talks under the Minsk process. It does not consider that the peace
process should depends on some elections in Nagorno Karabakh. The FM
assures that Russia together with the US and France will continue its
active efforts to help the Azeris and Armenians to find a solution to
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, reports RBK.

Pan Armenian News
MEETING OF RUSSIAN INTERIOR MINISTRY AND ARMENIAN POLICE JOINT BOARD HELD IN
KRASNODAR
23.06.2005 04:04
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ June 23 the joint board of the Russian Ministry of
Internal Affairs and the Police of Armenia will meet in Krasnodar. Russian
Minister of Internal Affairs Rashid Nurgaliyev has already arrived in
Krasnodar today. Chief of the Armenian Police, lieutenant general Hayk
Harutyunyan will represent Armenia. When commenting on the coming meeting R.
Nurgaliyev indicated the need for close consolidation under the conditions
of new challenges and threats. In his words, this is the only way to secure
citizens and states. The Russian Minister informed that matters of further
promotion of cooperation between law-enforcement bodies of Russia and
Armenia, as well as joint struggle against organized crime will be discussed
in the course of the session.

A1plus
| 21:09:10 | 21-06-2005 | Politics | PACE SUMMER SESSION |
SHAVARSH KOCHARYAN SPOKE ON BEHALF OF EUROPEAN LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE
The situation in Central Asia was discussed at the PACE summer session.
According to the regulations, chairman of the PACE political committee Abdul
Kadir Atesh delivered a speech. His report was mostly dedicated to the
developments in Uzbekistan.
170 people were hurt in Uzbekistan on May 13, many of them were just
innocent victims. Majority in Uzbekistan, especially the youth are convinced
that the incumbent President Islam Karimov will not be in power for long.
The Member of the Armenian delegation to PACE Shavarsh Kocharyan was
proposed to make a report on the situation in Central Asia on behalf of the
European Liberal Democratic Alliance.
In his speech he touched upon the democracy development not only in the
countries of Central Asia but also in a number of CIS member-states and
Europe. `Uzbekistan’s example proved that `strong’ power causes numerous
victims. The events of May 13 cannot be approved. The power that applies to
terror against the people has no right to fight against international
terror’, Shavarsh Kocharyan resumed.

ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
June 20, 2005 Monday
Russia obligations to Council of Europe main item on PACE session
By Yuri Ulyanovsky
STRASBOURG
The assessment of the fulfilment by Russia of obligations to the
Council of Europe is one of the main items on the agenda of the
summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(PACE) that begins at the Strasbourg Palace of Europe on Monday. The
Assembly’s monitoring commission has prepared a report on this issue.
Problems of mass media work in the coverage of terror acts will be
considered during the discussion of the report “Mass media and
terrorism.”
The report contains an appeal to journalists to abstain from the
publication of shocking details when describing terrorist acts and it
is noted in the report that the fight against terrorism should not be
a pretext for limiting the freedom of the press.
Among other main items on the session agenda is the discussion of the
current state of affair in Kosovo, issues of functioning of
democratic institutes in Azerbaijan and the process of constitutional
reform in Armenia.
The Assembly will also consider problems extending out of the borders
of 46 members states of the Council of Europe – developments in
Central Asia and in the Middle East.

CATHOLICOS OF ALL ARMENIANS HOLDS FUNERAL SERVICE BY THE GRAVE OF
SOGHOMON TEYLERYAN IN FRESNO
YEREVAN, June 20. /ARKA/. Catholicos of all Armenians Garegin II held
a funeral service by the grave of Soghomon Teyleryan in Fresno. As the
Press Chancellery of Echmiadzin Holy See told ARKA News Agency, upon
finishing the service, Garegin II gave a sermon dedicated to justice
and unbending will of the Armenian people and blessed the guests. On
March 16, 1921, Armenian student Soghomon Teyleryan shot Taliat-
pasha, Former Turkish Minister of Internal Affairs of the Young Turk
Government in Berlin. Later, he was completely acquitted by the Berlin
Court. L.V.-0-

Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
June 20 2005
Ruling Party Leads In Karabakh Vote

(RFE/RL)
20 June 2005 (RFE/RL) — Preliminary results in yesterday’s
parliamentary elections in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh
show the ruling party has a strong lead.
Election officials in the unrecognized enclave say the ruling party
and its allies have won 22 seats in the 33 seat parliament.
Independent candidates have won eight seats, and the opposition bloc
won three.
The opposition says the vote was unfair, and accuses authorities of
manipulating the ballot.
Paul Williams, a representative of the U.S. Public International Law
and Policy Group which monitored the poll, today said that the vote
met international democratic standards.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over the territory in the early
1990s in which an estimated 25,000 people were killed and hundreds of
thousands of Azerbaijanis were driven from the region.
Azerbaijan still claims the territory, which is under Armenian
control.
While Armenia today welcomed the vote, Azerbaijan says any voting in
Nagorno-Karabakh is illegal until Azerbaijanis banished from the
region are allowed to return.

Al-Bawaba, Jordan
June 19 2005
Khalifa receives letter from Armenian President
Posted: 19-06-2005 , 15:48 GMT
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has received a letter from Armenian
President, Robert Kocharian,dealing with bilateral relations between
the two countries and ways to enhance them in various fields, according
to WAM.
The letter was presented to Foreign Ministry Under Secretary, Abdullah
Rashid Al Nu’aimi, when he received the Armenian Ambassador, Arshak
Poladian.